11 - Comparative Sustainability and Resiliency Evaluation of Conventional and Bioreactor Landfills

Bioreactor landfill or leachate recirculating landfill holds promise as an alternative to traditional ‘dry-tomb’ landfill owing to the reduced waste stabilization time resulting from improved moisture conditions. However, despite extensive research on bioreactor landfill processes, there has been limited focus on assessing their resilience and sustainability. Due to the escalating concerns related to climate change and the growing focus on sustainable and resilient engineering solutions, it is imperative to comprehensively assess the bioreactor landfill concept in this context. Hence, current study presents a comparative assessment of resilience and sustainability of conventional and bioreactor landfills, utilizing the TQUALICSR (Tiered Quantitative Assessment of Life Cycle Sustainability and Resilience) framework. The resilience assessment included the evaluation of technical resilience when subjected to various shocks and the triple-bottom-line (environmental, economic, and social) implications of a failure in each case. Subsequently, a holistic sustainability assessment, considering environmental, economic, and social impacts of both the landfills over their life cycle, was performed. Both resilience and sustainability assessments were then integrated using the TQUALICSR framework to compute resiliency-sustainability index (RSI). Results show that environmental benefits of higher energy recovery and shorter waste stabilization time, and the economic viability of bioreactor landfills outweigh the costs and risks associated with leachate recirculation. Furthermore, a social survey involving respondents from diverse backgrounds show a higher level of acceptance for bioreactor landfills, hinting at the possibility of a more widespread adoption. In conclusion, this study presents a compelling case for adopting bioreactor landfills as a sustainable and resilient alternative to conventional landfills.